Once upon a time there lived a lady young and fairRaven hair and rosy cheeks and no one to compareDaughter of a noble man in a little townAnd her name was Nora Lee, and it was spoken all around

It's told that she was courted by two men of different kinOne of them a shoemaker that made boots of lizard skinThe other was the sheriff in this little townAnd he swore he'd marry her or else he'd put her in the ground

One night the moon was brightly shining in the skyShe went to see the shoemaker and with him she did lie"You are my own true love" she whispered soft and lowBut they'd been spied upon that night, and soon the sheriff he would know

Then came a cold and dark night and the wind was blowin' freeThe sheriff and his men they tied poor Nora to a treeFull of wickedness they stole her maidenheadThen they stabbed her with a knife 'till they were sure she was dead

Her body it was found the next day on the banks belowThe news was heard and many hearts were filled with grief and woe"The guilty one will soon be hung" the sheriff he did claimAnd he called upon his men, the shoemaker to blame

The scaffold it was built and all the people gathered roundJust to watch that poor boy taken to his hangin' groundThe rope was tied around his neck for everyone to seeAnd as the hangman pulled the rope, then he would meet his Nora Lee